How to deliver a hospitality experience that will keep customers coming back
Creating an exceptional customer experience in hospitality involves balancing a combination of functionality, aesthetics, and exceptional customer service to keep customers coming back. Let’s elaborate on 5 key factors that outline how to deliver a standout hospitality experience that delivers brand loyalty and ROI. Ultimately engaging customers to come back.
1. Develop an immersive experience
The customer demand and expectation extends beyond the traditional experience. Given the competitive market dynamics, the expectation is to create an experience that customers can’t get anywhere else. Developing a holistic ambience and experience often determines whether the customer is a one time visitor or a returning patron. Experiences and spaces that connect with customers on an emotional level though impactful design, storytelling and overall experience, will keep customers coming back.
Case study: EXPAT. Roasters Surabaya, Indonesia
Infusing the Expat Roasters brand principles within a contemporary and immersive experience, the design emulates the Balinese origin of the brand with a modern and brutalist aesthetic. The café exudes an industrial aesthetic while incorporating elements of the outdoors, a conscious effort to bring the outside environment inside. The signature brew bar features a unique coffee experience that customers can’t get elsewhere.
2. Aesthetics and functionality
Aesthetics and functionality are intertwined and play a significant role in shaping customer experience. Accessibility is essential to ensure that all guests can navigate and utilise the space comfortably. To reflect the brand identity, with a distinct understanding of the intended use, intuitive flow, multipurpose spaces and practical amenities are critical for a diverse range of customers. Adaptability when designing a hospitality space is another crucial aspect to accommodate varying group sizes and clientele requirements for both day and night. Most crucially, ensuring that staff and back house operations are strategically designed to support the front of house customer service.
For example, Markets Club flexible furniture, with arms for customers to get in and out of easily, allows function and aesthetics.
3. Localisation
Hospitality spaces need to reflect the local culture or demographic to create a sense of relevance. Adding artwork, design motifs or selecting a material palette that resonates with customers and tells a story, will elevate the customer experience and form a meaningful connection. Coupled with an understanding how they interact with the venue. The customer needs must be anticipated and catered for, for example if large groups are prevalent, large dining tables or grouped tables should be incorporated into the design layout to meet customer needs.
Taking inspiration from the community, which is in a vibrant area famous for Asian delicacies, the club needed to appeal to the local market and culture by creating a new entertainment precinct that incorporated dining, outdoor and a VIP lounge. Careful space planning was undertaken to cater for various customer requirements, which are distinct to each zone. Three zones were created and clearly defined by the architecture - entrance, gaming and dining.
4. Flexibility
To reach a new demographic and meet the needs of your current customers, integrate different types of seating including banquette seating, various table configurations of varying shapes and sizes. This allows spaces to become flexible for various group sizes enabling maximum capacity at all times. By creating various styles of seating and incorporating elements such as screens, planters, a ‘space within a space’ can be created and will avoid looking like a ‘sea furniture’. This creates areas for discovery and privacy. Ultimately enhancing the experience and encouraging customers to return and discover more.
To accommodate and invite a variety of groups, the architecture and materiality was inspired by the brand and relaxed atmosphere of Ubud. A central espresso bar, tiered seating, a brew bar with fixed tables were central to the design. Coupled with a whiskey bar, outdoor seating and private concrete booths ensured a variety of groups were accommodated.
5. Lighting
Lighting plays a critical role in setting the ambiance of a space, defining its mood and enhancing its overall aesthetic appeal. To achieve this, align your lighting design strategy with the material palette of the space. Consider implementing feature and mood lighting in key joinery elements. These can serve as focal points that highlight architectural details or art pieces, while also contributing to a cohesive visual flow. Making calculated and strategic lighting choices can therefore elevate the overall aesthetic quality of your space, while reinforcing the desired ambiance and mood. Consider integrating Smart/ automated lighting systems such as Dali. These systems automatically change the lighting to suit the day and night and instantly shift the ambience of a space.
The Lighting shifts from day to evening tonight via an automated system, to enhance the ambience of the space and appeal to customers at different times. Custom pendants and lighting in the banquettes allows toe space to be moody and light only the areas where customers are engaging. LED lighting is incorporated throughout all joinery kick plates.
By incorporating these design principles, hospitality spaces can create memorable experiences and generate brand loyalty.
If you are curious about what this could mean for your business reach out to hello@xpluso.co or book a complimentary consultation.